Published: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 6:59 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at 6:59 p.m.

While the debate continues over whether to allow a Fort McCoy cattle ranch to pump groundwater that some say will harm Silver Springs, the Sleepy Creek Lands operation is going forward as a working business intent on growing.

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That was seen Tuesday when the new 38,000-acre cattle operation broke ground on a 17-mile long natural gas line from Silver Springs to just north of Fort McCoy Elementary School on Highway 315.

Sleepy Creek Lands, owned by Canadian-based billionaire Frank Stronach, is paying $3.4 million for the natural gas line to be completed by the end of the year. TECO Energy is building the underground pipeline for the cattle ranch, running it along Highway 315 on Marion County easement property.

The Sleepy Creek Lands operation includes a beef processing plant and has a goal of keeping 10,000 cattle on the farm to be predominately grass-fed rather than sending them out of state and to the west to be fattened with grains. Sleepy Creek supporters say the beef is leaner and healthier, and the endeavor keeps the cattle industry in Florida.

As Sleepy Creek Lands battles environmentalists and sometimes the St. Johns River Water Management District over the millions of gallons it says it needs to operate the cattle ranch, it is not letting legal roadblocks stand in the way of progress.

Sleepy Creek Lands plant manager Mike Broderick said the ranch already has 2,900 cattle on the property and that the processing plant will soon process 20 to 25 head of cattle per week.

“We're in the process of growing,” Broderick said during the Tuesday groundbreaking ceremony for the gas line.

Part of that growth is to get the grass-fed beef into local grocery stores; something Broderick said might be accomplished by the end of the week.

He also is in discussions to offer the leaner meat to restaurants. It is already available at Stronach's thoroughbred racetracks in Florida and Maryland.

Broderick said that despite the slow legal process to get approval from the water district for more water, the cattle ranch will continue to be developed.

The natural gas line will give the cattle ranch and processing plant options as to the kind of energy it wants to use based on prices, said John Grady, Stronach's director of business development. The natural gas line will allow the cattle operation to continue working if electric energy is not available because of a storm or other problem.

The plant currently has about a dozen employees but will expand to about 100 when it is fully operational, Broderick said. He described the farm being on a five-year plan to grow to as many as 10,000 cattle.

Currently, there is little cost difference in operating the cattle ranch and processing plant using purchased electricity or natural gas at today's prices, Broderick said.

The processing plant already has a three-mile long natural gas lines leading to Highway 315, where it will hook up to TECO's lines when they are completed. The plant has large natural gas tanks onsite, which also can be used to power generators if there are problems with electrical supply.

TECO spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said building the pipe was a Sleepy Creek decision and would not have been brought to the area had the operation not requested the gas line. Others in the Fort McCoy area are invited to hook up to the 4-inch diameter steel line, she said.

Beginning about five years ago, Stronach began buying land in Marion County and Levy County. In December 2011, Sleepy Creek (then known as Adena Springs) asked the St. Johns River Water Management District for permission to pump 13 million gallons per day of water from the aquifer. Strong resistance from the public and environmental groups forced it to significantly reduce the water request and reduce the size of the land area from which the water would be drawn. That resistance has been based on the fear the pumping would cause the flow of Silver Springs to diminish and the groundwater to become polluted from cattle manure.

The water district staff recently recommended to its board that Sleepy Creek be allowed to switch some of its water rights from a nearby sod farm Stronach owns to the northern tract of the cattle ranch. Environmentalists are fighting the staff recommendation and appealing it through the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings.

Grady said people involved in the cattle ranch suspected there would be some resistance to water requests, but not the magnitude that met them so early on in the permitting process.

“No we didn't (expect that), but we knew there would be some,” he said. “When you're in the business this long, it's all about communications. Mr. Stronach is more of an environmentalist than any of these people could imagine.”

Grady said that never during the process did the cattle operation leaders consider cutting their losses and instead build where there might be less public opposition.

Broderick said he also was surprised at public resistance to the ranch's water needs.

“No, that was not anticipated, but as we get more information out to the public, they'll see it's a positive,” he said.

He said the number of cattle added to the ranch will be determined by the amount of water available to irrigate grass for feed.

The grass-fed beef will cost a little more than grain-fed because it takes about six months longer to get grass-fed cattle ready for processing, Broderick said.

Ground beef prices rose 17 percent in the 12 months through April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. beef prices are up 74 percent since 2009 to the highest on record. Ground chuck increased from $3.85 in May to a record $3.91 in June.

<p>While the debate continues over whether to allow a Fort McCoy cattle ranch to pump groundwater that some say will harm Silver Springs, the Sleepy Creek Lands operation is going forward as a working business intent on growing.</p><p>That was seen Tuesday when the new 38,000-acre cattle operation broke ground on a 17-mile long natural gas line from Silver Springs to just north of Fort McCoy Elementary School on Highway 315.</p><p>Sleepy Creek Lands, owned by Canadian-based billionaire Frank Stronach, is paying $3.4 million for the natural gas line to be completed by the end of the year. TECO Energy is building the underground pipeline for the cattle ranch, running it along Highway 315 on Marion County easement property.</p><p>The Sleepy Creek Lands operation includes a beef processing plant and has a goal of keeping 10,000 cattle on the farm to be predominately grass-fed rather than sending them out of state and to the west to be fattened with grains. Sleepy Creek supporters say the beef is leaner and healthier, and the endeavor keeps the cattle industry in Florida. </p><p>As Sleepy Creek Lands battles environmentalists and sometimes the St. Johns River Water Management District over the millions of gallons it says it needs to operate the cattle ranch, it is not letting legal roadblocks stand in the way of progress.</p><p>Sleepy Creek Lands plant manager Mike Broderick said the ranch already has 2,900 cattle on the property and that the processing plant will soon process 20 to 25 head of cattle per week.</p><p>“We're in the process of growing,” Broderick said during the Tuesday groundbreaking ceremony for the gas line.</p><p>Part of that growth is to get the grass-fed beef into local grocery stores; something Broderick said might be accomplished by the end of the week.</p><p>He also is in discussions to offer the leaner meat to restaurants. It is already available at Stronach's thoroughbred racetracks in Florida and Maryland.</p><p>Broderick said that despite the slow legal process to get approval from the water district for more water, the cattle ranch will continue to be developed.</p><p>“We will not give up. (Stronach) wants to develop the land. We're going to continue,” Broderick said.</p><p>The natural gas line will give the cattle ranch and processing plant options as to the kind of energy it wants to use based on prices, said John Grady, Stronach's director of business development. The natural gas line will allow the cattle operation to continue working if electric energy is not available because of a storm or other problem.</p><p>The plant currently has about a dozen employees but will expand to about 100 when it is fully operational, Broderick said. He described the farm being on a five-year plan to grow to as many as 10,000 cattle.</p><p>Currently, there is little cost difference in operating the cattle ranch and processing plant using purchased electricity or natural gas at today's prices, Broderick said.</p><p>The processing plant already has a three-mile long natural gas lines leading to Highway 315, where it will hook up to TECO's lines when they are completed. The plant has large natural gas tanks onsite, which also can be used to power generators if there are problems with electrical supply.</p><p>TECO spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said building the pipe was a Sleepy Creek decision and would not have been brought to the area had the operation not requested the gas line. Others in the Fort McCoy area are invited to hook up to the 4-inch diameter steel line, she said.</p><p>Beginning about five years ago, Stronach began buying land in Marion County and Levy County. In December 2011, Sleepy Creek (then known as Adena Springs) asked the St. Johns River Water Management District for permission to pump 13 million gallons per day of water from the aquifer. Strong resistance from the public and environmental groups forced it to significantly reduce the water request and reduce the size of the land area from which the water would be drawn. That resistance has been based on the fear the pumping would cause the flow of Silver Springs to diminish and the groundwater to become polluted from cattle manure.</p><p>The water district staff recently recommended to its board that Sleepy Creek be allowed to switch some of its water rights from a nearby sod farm Stronach owns to the northern tract of the cattle ranch. Environmentalists are fighting the staff recommendation and appealing it through the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings.</p><p>Grady said people involved in the cattle ranch suspected there would be some resistance to water requests, but not the magnitude that met them so early on in the permitting process.</p><p>“No we didn't (expect that), but we knew there would be some,” he said. “When you're in the business this long, it's all about communications. Mr. Stronach is more of an environmentalist than any of these people could imagine.”</p><p>Grady said that never during the process did the cattle operation leaders consider cutting their losses and instead build where there might be less public opposition.</p><p>Broderick said he also was surprised at public resistance to the ranch's water needs.</p><p>“No, that was not anticipated, but as we get more information out to the public, they'll see it's a positive,” he said.</p><p>He said the number of cattle added to the ranch will be determined by the amount of water available to irrigate grass for feed.</p><p>The grass-fed beef will cost a little more than grain-fed because it takes about six months longer to get grass-fed cattle ready for processing, Broderick said.</p><p>Ground beef prices rose 17 percent in the 12 months through April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. beef prices are up 74 percent since 2009 to the highest on record. Ground chuck increased from $3.85 in May to a record $3.91 in June.</p><p><i>Contact Fred Hiers at 352-867-4157 or fred.hiers@starbanner.com.</i></p>